Newest member of the Troxy tribe is our Events Manager Toby Robinson. We sat down with him in between shows to find out a little bit more about him…
Tell us a bit about your background and when you joined Troxy…
I grew up in Reading, which is synonymous with music fans for hosting Reading festival. I’ve always been passionate about music, I played guitar from a young age and was fascinated with music events. After attending my first Reading festival as a teenager I was determined to follow a path in music. I went on to study for my Bachelors degree in Music, Performance and Production at Southampton Solent University.
I’ve recently joined Troxy as Events Manager and relocated to London after working for the last 7 years at The Joiners in Southampton where I studied for my university degree and fell in love with the place. The Joiners was an independent 200 capacity live music venue right in the heart of Southampton and it’s the place that gave me my foot in the door. I’m really excited to have worked my way up from The Joiners and to now work at one of the largest independent live music venues in the capital, managing 10 times the amount of jobs where I can develop my skills even further!
What does your day to day look like?
I’m still understanding my new role as I’m very fresh to the business but I know how a live music venue ticks and it’s mainly understanding the level of planning that goes into getting an event listed and off the ground.
You need to be able to pivot from small scale events to large shows and work towards getting a busy roster of events listed on the books. I’m shadowing some of my colleagues whilst putting theory into practice but it’s an enjoyable learning curve for me which allows me to get to grips with how Troxy’s individual teams all work together to pull off our spectacular shows.
It’s an interesting change of pace for me marrying up the live events aspects with the additional administrative office based tasks but it keeps things varied and lets me flex other skills.
Any stand out shows for you so far?
Quite a few stand out to me that I’ve had the opportunity to go to or support. I’m a huge fan of Swiftogeddon, and I believe it’s one of the best feel-good shows we get to put on at Troxy. You can’t be down at Swiftogeddon!
Also, I was recently working the Kes show where Shaggy came on stage and surprised the crowd with a duet which was effectively a warm up for NottingHill carnival the next day. The crowd went crazy! It was super special to be part of bringing that event to life and also just witnessing the effect it had on everyone. Definitely one for the books!
I’m really excited for Explosions In The Sky which is at Troxy in November. Their album ‘The Earth is Not A Cold Dead Place’ will always have a special place in my heart as it’s full of transcendental instrumental sounds. Their music is featured on loads of film tracks too so it’s going to be great to hear some of the classics and witness their new stuff in person. They are one band that brings out the emotional side in me!
What are you up to outside of work?
Oh quite a variety of things really. I’ve always been interested in event lighting so I work freelance supporting other venues as a lighting engineer. I’m a music fan through and through so my hobbies include going to small shows and discovering cool new artists. I’ve got a lot of friends in music so they help me keep tabs on emerging artists I might like.
I’m also a seasoned Reading FC ticket holder and football fan (although they’re not doing the best in the league at the moment). I’ve also recently discovered a passion for walking and I’m taking part in a couple of charity walks with my Dad. I’m taking part in an ongoing challenge to walk 1 million miles around London and a 30 mile London walk in aid of Prostate Cancer. Taking part in these challenges is a great way to familiarise myself with my new home and experience all of the beautiful green spaces that London has to offer.
What are your 3 desert island discs?
‘Black Mile To The Surface’ by Manchester Orchestra. It’s just a really beautiful piece of music. A compilation album full of classical songs that are both relaxing and ambient, and ‘American Idiot’ by Green Day because it’s a classic that will forever remind me of my childhood.
What’s next for you at Troxy?
Honestly, I’m looking forward to developing into the ‘go to’ guy at Troxy, like I was at The Joiners. I want to know everything inside and out working alongside the talented team here, and continuing to uphold Troxy’s status and reputation as a kick-ass independent venue. My goals range from driving events forwards in my position now to developing into running my own venue in the future. There’s a lot to learn in the meantime but I’m determined to get to that stage later on in my life.
